The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of peach tree which is denominated varietally as "August Lady" and more particularly, to such a peach tree which bears a freestone, late maturing, high quality fruit which has a firm, crisp flesh texture at commercial maturity, and which further is principally characterized as to novelty by a date of ripening of approximately August 2 through August 8 at Dinuba, Calif.
Fruit growers have recognized for some period of time that the relative dates that various varieties of peaches become ripe for harvesting is of extreme importance. In particular, it has long been known that it is desirable to provide a peach tree that bears fruit during a portion of the season later than other varieties of peach trees with which it most closely resembles, whereby the fruit produced by such trees can be sent to market at a time when competition is at a minimum and the best price can be negotiated. Further, large scale agricultural businesses have long understood that additional economic benefits can be attained if the harvesting period of a period orchard is spread out over a longer period of time inasmuch as the capital expenditures required to harvest and transport produce from the orchard can be extended over the same period of time thereby resulting in an overall lower cost of the final product and simultaneously increasing the uniformity of production throughout the entire season.
The new and distinct variety of peach tree disclosed herein is characterized as to novelty by producing fruit which are somewhat similar in their physical characteristic to the "Summer Lady" peach tree [U.S. Plant Pat. No. 5,865], of which the new variety is a chance mutation, but which is distinguished therefrom by producing fruit which are mature for harvesting in shipment approximately two weeks later than the "Summer Lady" peach tree at the same geographic location in the San Joaquin Valley of Central California.